Back at the Mobile World Congress 2014, Microsoft added nine new manufacturers to the Windows Phone hardware partners list. It was later followed by Prestigio and Micromax at Build, but it seems it doesn't end there. At the Qualcomm Reference Design and Wireless Innovation Summit in China, Microsoft announced it's adding two more OEMs to the ever growing list of partners, including the US-based Blu, and K Touch, which is said to be one of the largest OEM and ODM in China.

The latest two additions increases the number Windows Phone hardware partners to 17, which is definitely a good news, as every OEM has its own design cues and pricing strategies, which will not only increase competition, but also give users more choices. This will definitely help Microsoft regain some market share in the competitive mobile operating system arena, especially in emerging markets. The list includes Foxconn, Gionee, HTC, Huawei, JSR, Karbonn Lenovo, LG, Longcheer, Micromax, Prestigio, Samsung, ZTE, Xolo, Blu and K Touch, with the last one being our very own Nokia -- now a part of Microsoft.

We've already seen a few rumors hinting at the launch of Windows Phone devices by some of the manufacturers. HTC is rumored to be working on a device dubbed as W8, and we also saw a leaked press render LG's WP8.1 powered device. It's not just the big OEMs, Prestigio's Windows Phone handset was leaked a few days back as well. The future appears to be bright for Microsoft, if more and more OEMs start releasing Windows Phone handsets.